Geographically specific emergency notification

• US 8,350,721 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2009
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Carr, Jeffrey Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): BEE, ANDREW W.
• Application Number:
  US12/506,789
• Publication Number:
  US 20110018736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,267 Days
• Field of Search: 340/902, 340/903, 701/414, 701/422
• US Class Current: 340/903
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0965 responding to signals from another vehicle, e.g. emergency vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

A mobile device is associated with navigational information of a client vehicle and provides the navigational information of the client vehicle to an emergency vehicle notification service. The mobile also receives an emergency vehicle message from the emergency vehicle notification service, where the emergency vehicle message includes navigational information of an emergency responder vehicle. The mobile device determines updated navigational information of the client vehicle, and identifies a projected intersection between a path of the emergency responder vehicle and a path of the client vehicle based on the emergency vehicle message and the updated navigational information of the client vehicle. The mobile device generates an alert signal to a user of the mobile device based on the identification of the projected intersection.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing, by a client device, navigational information of a client vehicle solely to a first server,

the navigational information being used by the first server to provide information identifying the client device to a second server when the client device is within a particular range of an emergency responder vehicle;

receiving, by the client device, an emergency vehicle message solely from the second server when the client device is within the particular range of the emergency responder vehicle,

the emergency vehicle message including navigational information of the emergency responder vehicle, and

the first server being different from the second server;

determining, by the client device, whether a particular mode of the client device is activated;

determining, by the client device, updated navigational information of the client vehicle when the particular mode of the client device is activated;

determining, by the client device, whether the emergency responder vehicle is projected to intersect with the client vehicle based on the emergency vehicle message and the updated navigational information of the client vehicle; and

providing, by the client device, an alert signal to a user of the client device when the emergency responder vehicle is projected to intersect with the client vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

activating the particular mode of the client device;

communicating, after activating the particular mode, with a vehicle information system of the client vehicle to receive the navigation information of the client vehicle from the vehicle information system; and

associating, before providing the navigational information of the client vehicle, the client device with the navigational information of the client vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2, where communicating with the vehicle information system of the client vehicle comprises:

identifying, by the client device, a device, within a short-range wireless network, that has access to the vehicle information system; and

receiving, from the device, the navigation information of the client vehicle from the vehicle information system.

4. The method of claim 1, where the navigational information of the client vehicle includes information regarding one or more of:

a geographic position of the client vehicle,

a direction of the client vehicle,

a destination of the client vehicle,

a projected route of the client vehicle, or

a speed of the client vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, where the alert signal includes one or more of:

an audible tone,

a message provided via a speaker of the client device, or

a text message.

6. The method of claim 1, where providing the alert signal includes:

identifying a projected intersection between a path of the emergency responder vehicle and a path of the client vehicle, and

providing increasingly louder tones as a location of the projected intersection becomes closer to a location of the client vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1, where the client device includes one of:

a radiotelephone,

a personal communications system (PCS) terminal,

a personal digital assistant (PDA), or

a laptop computer.

8. The method of claim 1, where the navigational information of the emergency responder vehicle indicates that the emergency responder vehicle is within a particular distance of a position identified in the navigational information of the client vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1,

where the navigational information of the client vehicle includes information regarding a geographic position of the client vehicle, and

where the updated navigational information of the client vehicle includes information regarding one or more of:

another geographic position of the client vehicle,

a direction of the client vehicle,

a destination of the client vehicle,

a projected route of the client vehicle, or

a speed of the client vehicle.

10. A client device comprising:

a processor to;

provide information regarding a position of a client vehicle solely to a first server,

the information regarding the position of the client vehicle being used by the first server to provide information identifying the client device to a second server when the client device is within a particular range of an emergency responder vehicle;

receive an emergency vehicle message solely from the second server when the client device is within the particular range of the emergency responder vehicle,

the emergency vehicle message including navigational information of the emergency responder vehicle, and

the first server being different from the second server,

determine whether a particular mode of the client device is activated,

determine navigational information of the client vehicle when the particular mode of the client device is activated,

identify a projected intersection between a path of the emergency responder vehicle and a path of the client vehicle based on the emergency vehicle message and the navigational information of the client vehicle, and

provide an alert signal to a user of the client device based on the projected intersection.

11. The client device of claim 10, where, when providing the information regarding the position of the client vehicle, the processor is to:

associate the client device with other navigational information of the client vehicle obtained prior to providing the information regarding the position of the client vehicle, and

provide, based on the other navigational information of the client vehicle, the information regarding the position of the client vehicle to the first server.

12. The client device of claim 10, where the navigational information of the client vehicle includes information regarding one or more of:

a position of the client vehicle,

a direction of the client vehicle,

a destination of the client vehicle,

a projected route of the client vehicle, or

a speed of the client vehicle.

13. The client device of claim 10, where the client device comprises one or more of:

a radiotelephone,

a personal communications system (PCS) terminal,

a personal digital assistant (PDA), or

a laptop computer.

14. A system comprising:

one or more server devices to;

receive an emergency vehicle message,

the emergency vehicle message including navigational information of an emergency responder vehicle,

transmit, based on the navigational information and to one or more other server devices, a request for information identifying one or more client devices within a particular range of the emergency responder vehicle,

the one or more other server devices being different from the one or more client devices,

receive, from the one or more other server devices, the information identifying the one or more client devices within the particular range of the emergency responder vehicle, and

provide, based on the information identifying the one or more client devices, the navigational information of the emergency responder vehicle to the one or more client devices.

15. The system of claim 14, where the navigational information of the emergency responder vehicle includes information regarding one or more of:

a geographic position of the emergency responder vehicle,

a direction of the emergency responder vehicle,

a destination of the emergency responder vehicle,

a projected route of the emergency responder vehicle, or

a speed of the emergency responder vehicle.

16. A method comprising:

receiving, by one or more computing devices, a message from an emergency responder vehicle,

the message including navigational information associated with a geographic position of the emergency responder vehicle;

transmitting, by the one or more computing devices and to one or more other computing devices, a request for information identifying a client device associated with a vehicle that is within a particular distance of the geographic position of the emergency responder vehicle,

the one or more other computing devices being different from the client device;

receiving, by the one or more computing devices and from the one or more other computing devices, the information identifying the client device associated with the vehicle that is within the particular distance of the geographic position of the emergency responder vehicle; and

forwarding, by the one or more computing devices and to the client device, the navigational information associated with the geographic position of the emergency responder vehicle.

17. The method of claim 16, where the message from the emergency responder vehicle includes:

a radio frequency (RF) signal sent via a wireless communications network.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, from a group of client devices, geographic position information for vehicles associated with the group of client devices,

the group of client devices including the client device, and

the vehicles including the vehicle; and

selecting the client device from the group of client devices based on the geographic position information.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to;

provide information regarding a position of a client vehicle solely to a first server,

the information regarding the position of the client vehicle being used by the first server to provide information identifying the device to a second server when the device is within a particular range of an emergency responder vehicle;

receive an emergency vehicle message solely from the second server when the device is within the particular range of the emergency responder vehicle,

the emergency vehicle message including route information for the emergency responder vehicle, and

the first server being different from the second server;

determine whether a particular mode of the device is activated,

determine navigation information of the client vehicle when the particular mode of the device is activated;

identify a projected intersection based on the route information for the emergency responder vehicle and a path that is based on the navigation information of the client vehicle; and

provide an alert signal to a user of the device based on the identification of the projected intersection.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, where the navigation information of the client vehicle includes information regarding one or more of:

a geographic position of the client vehicle,

a direction of the client vehicle,

a destination of the client vehicle,

a projected route of the client vehicle, or

a speed of the client vehicle.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, where, when the particular mode is activated, the particular mode indicates that the user of the device is operating the client vehicle.